COMMANDED TO LOVE

And this is His commandment: that we should believe in the name of His Son, Jesus Christ, and we should loveG25 one another just as He commanded us.

1 John 3:23 (BSB)

Love (agapáō) is imperative. God does not have an a la carte menu from which we pick and choose what commands we are to obey. Jesus Himself voiced the command to love, “This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you” (John 15:12). How did Jesus love us? He loved us selflessly, unconditionally, and to the point of dying in our place on the cross. He bore unimaginable physical suffering and the mental anguish of our sin being placed upon Him for the joy He knew to be in His future. Jesus went to the cross in obedience to His Father, completing the mission for which He came to earth; but He was also redeeming and creating His forever family which would bring Him great joy.

Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Hebrews 12:2

Jesus went to the Cross because of the joy it would bring. He looked right through the Cross to the coming joy, the joy of bringing salvation to those whom he loves. For this joy, then, Jesus “endured the cross.”

Expositor’s Bible Commentary

Knowing how much Jesus sacrificed for us, can we look past the momentary inconvenience or cost of demonstrating love to others in the family of God? Can we love like Jesus in the sense of prioritizing someone else’s needs above our own, thinking forward to the joy our love will bring not only to them but to us as we witness their joy? Might walking in the love of Jesus bring us joy as well as being a fragrant offering to God?

Father, as we have been studying love throughout Your word, we have developed a better understanding of what it means to obey the commandment to “love one another.” Lord, help us to more completely love others because of the knowledge You have given us.